Louisville celebrates success of men's, women's teams

Louisville head coach Rick Pitino addresses a gathering of fans during a celebration at the KFC Yum! Center.

The latest celebration was held Wednesday as the NCAA champion Cardinals’ men’s team and runner-up women’s squad received heroes’ welcomes at the KFC Yum! Center.

A near-capacity crowd awash in red thanked players and coaches for providing one of the most satisfying weeks ever with both playing for titles and the men delivering Louisville’s first championship in 27 years.

Men’s coach Rick Pitino drew a huge cheer by asking, “Wouldn’t it be great if we somehow got back to Dallas?” for next year’s championship.

GOING PRO: Indiana 7-footer Cody Zeller and a pair of point guards are among the latest standout underclassmen to enter the NBA Draft.

Zeller, a 7-foot sophomore who led the Hoosiers in scoring (16.5 points) and rebounding (8.1), was a second-team All-American and is projected to be a top-10 pick in the draft.

The 6-foot-6 Carter-Williams started all 40 games for the Orange this season. He finished fifth nationally in assist average (7.3) and fourth in steals (2.78) among Division I players, and also averaged 11.9 points.